No Remains
by speed killz
Summary: Setsuna is overwhelmed by a pack of demons when she's lost in thought and not concentrating on her fight. Turning all demon, she destroys the demons, kills the summoner, and attacks Negi. Konoka tries to calm her down.


No Remains

They were easy to summon, and equally easy to dispel. Especially with Asuna's harisen. A single smack from Asuna's harisen and the conjured demons were sent straight back to hell, or wherever they had come from.

Setsuna slashed another one to pieces, and glared around, looking for the summoner. Today was the worst possible day to have to fend off attacking demons. She severed the arms of another attacking demon, then swiftly beheaded it. Once it was slain, she looked around, and chose her next target, dark thoughts swirling through her head.

Although Setsuna Sakurazaki often didn't show or express happiness, it wasn't her goal to exude sadness, anger, selfishness, or downright self-absorption either. Now though, Setsuna was very angry, and her thoughts were mostly about herself.

_'Can't believe that no good, mother-fucking paparazzi...Damn, I knew it was true, but I didn't want to find out like that!'_

Her swing became more vicious, and whilst it became more violent, the strike itself also became wider, though this certainly wasn't Setsuna's plan. She didn't notice though, and carried on slaying demons, giving no thought to her current situation. Slowly, she was beginning to break off from the main group, and slash a way through the waves of attacking demons, slowly isolating herself. She never noticed.

_'I know she didn't mean anything by it, but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt...'_

Setsuna's eyes widened as a demon reared up in front of her, sword in hand, ready to attack her. Setsuna's warrior instincts took over, and many hours of training came to fruition in that split second it took to dodge the enemies attack, and launch a counter attack of her own. She split the demon in half with her long sword, and kicked it's bloody carcass out of her way, charging forward. The demon disappeared as it hit the ground, as the summoning cancelled.

As Setsuna attacked still more demons, she looked behind her and realized that she could no longer see Asuna, Negi, or Konoka.

_'Whatever...Asuna and Negi can take care of Konoka, she doesn't need me.'_

Setsuna's own coldness shocked her, but her heart convinced her that the view was true.

Setsuna shook her head clear of the self-pitying thoughts, but still more thoughts replaced them. Setsuna killed another demon, and as she did, the events of this past afternoon rushed through her head.

_Setsuna leaned against the back wall, watching Konoka sitting at her seat. They were in the process of eating lunch, but Setsuna refused to join them; she wasn't hungry anyway. Konoka seemed to be enjoying herself, as Asuna, Yuna, and Makie sat with her, talking. There had been a string of small attacks on Konoka these few days past, and Setsuna was thinking about the attacks, wondering who was behind them and when they would step up their attacks. She kept her eyes on Konoka, but her ears caught only snippets of their conversation._

_"..think he's hot!!"_

_Whoever was behind the recent attacks on the Ojou-Sama would eventually summon more than just the occasional demon; the last few weren't much to dispel, and Setsuna figured that the enemy had stopped testing their strength long ago, and was now just trying to put them off guard._

_"...but if you really wanna know who looks good, it's def..."_

_Setsuna figured either today after school, or sometime tomorrow would prove to be the biggest problem. The enemy couldn't afford to wait forever, could they?_

_"I...I don't really have anyone that..."_

_Suddenly, Setsuna's concentration was interrupted as Asakura made a grand entrance, waving and shouting good afternoon to everyone. She promptly made her way to Konoka, and sat down beside her, slinging her arm around Konoka's shoulders._

_Setsuna caught the motion, but said nothing. If it bothered Konoka, she would be sure to speak up, and besides, Asakura looked friendly enough...which wasn't saying much, that girl could pounce anytime, innocent look or not. _

_"So, heard you stayed the night at Sakurazaki's last night." She said, fiddling with her camera lens and grinning. Konoka blushed lightly, and suddenly Setsuna's ears were tuned to the conversation._

_"Y-yeah, but nothing happened." She said._

_Asakura laughed. "You say that like you're disappointed." She said. Makie gasped, and Yuna merely looked away, surprised that Asakura was willing to say something that rude to Konoka._

_"N-no, not at all." She said. "She is just a friend, after all." She said._

_Asakura raised her camera, and took a few pictures of Konoka, tilting the camera this way and that._

_"Uh huh." Asakura said, with the told that told everyone that she hadn't really heard what Konoka had said._

_"So, are you in love with her or what?" She asked. Asakura had lowered the camera to fiddle with the lens again, muttering something about over-exposure, but raised it swiftly enough to capture Konoka's surprised expression._

_"L-love? What? No, I just said, she's just a friend, is all." Konoka said. _

_Setsuna didn't say anything, but this was what struck her deeply. She had dedicated her life to protecting Konoka, and it had amounted to naught but 'just a friend.' Setsuna closed her eyes, and spent a few minutes reprimanding herself for thinking that there would be anything else. After all, her goal of protecting Konoka was pure, it wasn't to create feelings between them, she should be relieved, not angered. She slowly opened her eyes, and fixed her gaze on Konoka's back._

_However, since Setsuna was looking at Konoka's back, she didn't see the blush that spread across Konoka's face, revealing the true answer to Asakura's question._

_Asakura spent a minute flipping through the pictures on her camera, before stopping at one._

_"Ahh, this one's nice." She said. She turned the camera's LCD screen toward Konoka, and Konoka gasped at what she saw. Whatever it was, it had shocked Konoka, Setsuna thought. _

_"Hey, where'd...When'd you take that picture of me?" Konoka asked._

_The paparazzi grinned. "Just this morning." She said. "Who knew you had such curvy hips?" She asked, grinning devilishly. "Glad I was behind you when you walked up them stairs. Nice legs, too." She added to herself. _

_"Asakuraaa?"_

Setsuna slashed open another demon, and it faded into nonexistence. She looked around, wanting to slice through more demons, but took a slice instead. It was an attack from the rear, and it made Setsuna stumble to the ground. Setsuna fell forward onto her hands and knees, but was up quickly, knowing that if she lingered on the ground too long, she was a target. She winced as she twisted her hips, looking left and right over both shoulders. A gash had been cut from her left hip to her right shoulder, leaving a burning cut up her back. She had fought herself right into the middle of a pack of demons, and now they were surrounding her. They were unusually big too, but Setsuna told herself that it didn't nessessarily mean that they were strong.

Konoka looked around, and realized that Setsuna had dissappeared from her sight. She looked around worriedly, then scanned the skies quickly, wondering if Setsuna had transformed. She wasn't in the sky, so that meant she was in the thick of the demons, somewhere. Demons had advanced toward them, and were tightening a circle around their meagre group. Negi was contemplating putting up a wind barrier to buy them time, but Asuna was telling him not to waste his magic. Her arguement was that the closer they were pressed into a circle, then the easier it would be to defend, and the closer the demons would have to get to attack them, making it easier to take them out.

Negi thought her plan was a bit flawed, but went with it none-the-less, backing slowly into a circle, with Konoka at it's centre. Konoka was still scanning nervously for Setsuna, but unable to find her.

Setsuna turned on the demon who attacked her, and was about to serve revenge, when another sword bit into her now exposed back. She swore loudly, feeling her self control slipping. She hadn't really trained for multiple opponent warfare situations, and her mind wasn't in the clearest of situations right now. Setsuna whirled around, and struck down the attacking demon, and immediately swords from her rear and rear left and rear right were set upon her. She blocked the one to her rear-left, and dodged the one to her rear right, but her back took another slash. Setsuna growled loudly, feeling her hands shaking as her control slipped even further.

Setsuna decided not to wait for the next attack, and launched an initiative, parrying swords with the closest demon. She wasted no time in dispatching him, and immediately delt with another two. As soon as she stopped to catch her breath and replan her attack, the gap she had opened up was filled with four more demons. She shook her head, and attacked again, trying to strike down as many as she could.

She destroyed seven more, but their spaces were filled with more demons, the reserves seemingly endless.

_'Dammit, I've got to find the summoner!'_

Setsuna raised her sword, arms burning with the effort, and attacked again. As she concentrated on taking on her foes head on, she forgot again about her rear, and a new scar was quickly added to the others, making her drop to her knees. This one was deep, and Setsuna felt her back numbing rapidly. She swore again, and pushed herself up, willing her body to work. She stood on shaky knees, but by now there was little distance separating her from the ring of demons. They struck her repeatedly, knocking her down each time she tried to stand. The blows were random, some were hard, with the flat of the blade that stunned for a few seconds, others were with razor sharp edges that dropped her blood pressure with each strike, blood streaming down her back from the multiple cuts and gashes. Her front was also starting to resemble her back, with blood seeping out of cuts on her arms, chest and one on her stomach.

She ignored the wounds, and stood again, trying to raise her sword. Once more, a sword larger than her own knocked her face down in the dirt, and Setsuna was thankful that it was a stunning blow, not a slice.

She again forced herself up, but this time she wasn't so lucky. A katana was thrust through her shoulder, pushing her back down, and pinning her to the ground as the tip of the blade was buried in the ground.

Setsuna screamed in pain, but it quickly died as she coughed up blood. She shook her head, and wondered how she had been reduced to such a sad state.

_'Oh yeah...I was so eager to escape the painful memory of this afternoon that I rushed headlong into a suicidal battle..._'

Setsuna felt her consciousness waver, and she wondered if help would come. Probably not, she had seen the size of the army they were facing, and no doubt Negi and Asuna were being overwhelmed, despite their strength.

Her vision blacked, and her hearing was temporarily muted as she passed out, then rapidly came to, a little skip in the continuous river of consciousness that was about to run dry.

Setsuna raised her head, and spotted her sword. It was in her left hand, stretched out in front of her, except that her left arm wasn't responding, due to the katana shoved through her shoulder. She reached forward with her right hand, wanting to take it from her immobile left, and weild it with her right. Her shaking fingers were inches away from pryng the sword handle from her lifeless left hand, when a clawed demon foot came down harshly on her right hand, breaking her wrist and pinning her hand into the dirt.

Setsuna wondered if it was even worth struggling anymore. She couldn't move either of her arms, and she was surrounded by many demons of various sizes and strengths.

Something inside her told her to give up, but she knew she couldn't. She just didn't know what to do. Suddenly, she had no more time to think, as the sharp, cold metal of a sword tip was pressed against the back of her neck. Setsuna hesitated, and wondered what to do. Sadly, she realized there was nothing she could do. It took a few seconds, but the realization of defeat slowly settled in, draining her last reserves of energy. Setsuna closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply, concentrating on the sharp scent of the wet soil. She gave up, and her tense muscles relaxed as the sword tip pressed threateningly against her neck.

"I'm done." She whispered, concentrating on the feel of wet soil against her face. "It's okay, I'm done."

Konoka wasn't sure where Setsuna was, but she was starting to get worried. She turned to Negi, and he could see the worry reflected in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking about, and he smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Setsuna's fine, she's too tough to let anything happen to her." He said. "She's fine, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so...Setsuna..." Konoka whispered, looking around. Negi turned to defend against a demon attack, but now it was pretty much a stale-mate. They were surrounded, but demons weren't attacking, for they knew that they would surely be destroyed.

The stale-mate lasted fifteen minutes, before a flash of light to their left erupted in the sky. All heads turned to see a figure rising up in the sky, glorious white wings stretching out from the figure's back. Bright white hair flowed out around the figure, which they could now identify as a girl, one who was strikingly similar to Setsuna, carrying an identical sword.

"Is that...?" Negi was unsure if he should believe what he was seeing.

Asuna just stared, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Setsuna!" Konoka cried, seeing the girl hovering in the air. She was about fifteen feet away now, and drifting ever closer. The warrior's eyes were closed, and she was missing her customary ponytail. Her now white hair flowed and swayed in the wind, slightly longer now, her wings stroking slowly through the air.

Suddenly, the girl dropped down, slicing through the air, aiming for the ground. She levelled off a few feet above the ground, and began slashing left and right, tearing demons apart as if they were made of paper. Her powerful wings pushed her to incredible speeds, and she tore by overhead Negi, Asuna and Konoka. They could all see the girl's wounds, but what scared them the most was Setsuna's eyes. Now open, they carried a blank expression, as if she were lifeless. They were also pure gold, with no pupils. It was an eerie sight.

Setsuna slashed her way through tens of demons, before touching down on the ground. Negi, Asuna, and Konoka fought their way through the severely thinned ranks of demons, and for the moment it seemed as if reinforcements weren't coming. They hurried in the direction Setsuna had disappeared to, and after the defeat of a few unusually easy demons, came into a relatively clear section. The clearing contained Setsuna, in all her fierce glory, and a few metres away, an unknown woman that could only be the summoner.

Setsuna raised her sword, and the summoner unsheathed a katana, raising it into a defensive stance. Setsuna didn't hesitate, and her golden eyes held no expression as she dashed forward, sword raised.

The summoner tried to counter the blow, but Setsuna's new form gave her new strength, and her sword bit into the leading edge of the summoners sword, before slicing right through. The summoner looked at her blade in disbelief, then looked at Setsuna. Setsuna's face was blank, devoid of all emotion.

As the summoner's sliced blade dropped to the ground, Setsuna raised her sword again, intent on finishing the summoner off.

Konoka realized that Setsuna was about to kill the summoner, and shook her head, disbelief written across her features.

"Setsuna, no!" She yelled. "Snap out of it, what's gotten a hold of you??"

Setsuna didn't respond, or otherwise give any indication that she had heard Konoka. Setsuna dashed forward, and her next strike mutilated the hand holding the sword handle, with about six inches of blade. Blood splashed onto the ground, the sword flew out to the side, the handle striking the ground first.

The summoner, now totally disarmed, fell to her knees, trembling with fear. Setsuna didn't seem to realize that the summoner was begging for her life, and before Konoka could even think to protest Setsuna's actions, Setsuna's sword hissed through the air, slashing the throat of the summoner. Blood flowed freely from the wound, coating Setsuna's sword in it's dark, slippery sheen. The summoner's eyes were alive for a few seconds after her throat was slashed, looking at Setsuna with surprise. Slowly, the life faded from her eyes, then the body collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull 'thump'. Setsuna paid no attention to the summoner, and instead turned toward Negi, Asuna, and Konoka.

Negi, unsure of what was controlling Setsuna, stood in front of Asuna and Konoka, staff raised. Setsuna looked at him with her empty eyes, then walked slowly toward him, bloody sword held loosely in her hand, blade toward the ground.

Setsuna stopped a few feet away, then slowly raised her sword, setting herself in her stance.

Negi was unsure of what to do, and his thoughts were broken as Konoka's voice rang out in the eerie silence. The conjured demons were now starting to fade, their summoner dead, and all around them demons faded into dust, leaving nothing behind to give any evidence that they were ever there.

"Setsuna, please, put down your sword!" Konoka shouted, fear coursing through her. She had never seen Setsuna act this way, but now, so close to her, it seemed as if Setsuna was a different person. Not only was her appearance different, but she didn't even carry herself the same way as the old Setsuna did.

Setsuna slid her blank gaze from Negi's wand to Asuna, who was behind Negi, then Konoka. There seemed to be no recognition, then the eyes slid back to Negi. There were no pupils, but her eyes moved slowly as she looked from person to person. Setsuna's body suddenly tensed, then she dashed forward, sword raised, intent on attacking Negi.

Konoka couldn't believe that Setsuna would do such a thing. She absolutely refused to believe it. She pushed past Asuna, and ran toward Setsuna. Negi saw her jump forward out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to stop her, yelling at her to stay behind Asuna.

Setsuna took the chance to disarm him, slashing her sword across his forearm, making him drop the staff. He winced in pain, and gripped his forearm, watching as Konoka ran forward.

Setsuna realized that Konoka was running toward her, and must have interpreted her as an enemy, for she turned her sword on Konoka, raising it high into the air.

Before she could slash down though, Konoka had leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Setsuna's waist.

"Just STOP already!" She yelled, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Setsuna paused, and Konoka wondered if she had come to her senses. There was a long, tense pause, and in the silence only Konoka's heavy breathing could be heard. Then, slowly, Setsuna began to lower her sword.

"Please drop your sword, Se-Chan." Konoka whispered, unable to stop the tears from streaming down her face. As if Setsuna had heard Konoka, the sword fell from her limp grasp.

Konoka, holding Setsuna tightly, didn't dare look up at her face, lest she stare into those terrifying golden eyes. Setsuna's arms returned to her side, as she glared down at the girl hugging her.

"Just stop, Se-Chan." Konoka whispered softly, crying.

Setsuna raised her hands, and they slowly found their way to Konoka's shoulders. Konoka flinched as Setsuna's hands touched her shoulders. Setsuna held onto her shoulders tightly, and Konoka winced.

"Se-Chan, that hurts..." She whispered. Setsuna only squeezed harder, and Konoka felt Setsuna's nails biting into her skin.

"Hnn, please, stop already." Konoka whispered, streaks of pain shooting down her arms, rendering her fingers immobile. The pain slowly got worse, and Konoka tilted her head back in pain, biting her lip to keep from screaming. Setsuna's nails had bitten through her skin, and blood was starting to stain through her white shirt. Suddenly, Setsuna's eyes began to lose some of their gold, and her fingers stopped pressing into Konoka's flesh. Setsuna was still gripping her tightly, but she wasn't squeezing any tighter. Konoka, trembling from the fear and pain, hung onto Setsuna tightly, whispering her name. As Setsuna's grip slowly loosened, Konoka dared to look up. Setsuna's dark pupils were starting to return, forcing the gold from her eyes. Konoka stared, mesmerized by the dark brown flowing back into her eyes, and the gold retreating slowly to the edges of her eyes, disappearing before it flowed over the whites of her eyes.

Slowly, the wings on Setsuna's back drooped, then faded away. As they did, it was as if an immense pressure had been lifted. Setsuna's shoulders sagged in relief, and Konoka felt Setsuna's body relax in her arms.

"S-Se-Chan?" Konoka asked slowly, wondering if her friend had returned to normal. There was no answer for a second, then Setsuna moved her arms.

Setsuna slowly raised her arms, and returned Konoka's embrace, bowing her head.

"I'm sorry Kono-Chan." She said, feeling guilt coursing through her. Now Konoka was shaking and trembling in her arms, and she must be absolutely terrified of her. Setsuna couldn't believe she had done what she did, and she hugged Konoka tighter.

"Please, I'm sorry Kono-Chan." She whispered. Konoka looked up at Setsuna again, and was relieved to see her looking normal. Konoka hugged her again, hiding her face in the crook of Setsuna's neck.

"I was so scared." She said, her soft lips touching Setsuna's neck. "You scared me so much, I thought you were going to kill us."

Setsuna felt her heart skip a beat, and she realized that Konoka had been fearing for her life. Konoka had been fearing her. Setsuna closed her eyes, and tried to fight back the tears. When she felt she could control herself, she opened her eyes, and realized that there was blood on her fingertips, and that Konoka's shoulders were bloody.

"Did I do this to you?" Setsuna asked softly, not able to meet Konoka's gaze.

Konoka nodded. "You did..."

Setsuna shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry." She said. "I'm so very sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

Konoka reached up, her arms and hands shaking from the pain. She gently touched Setsuna's cheek, and slowly lifted her head so they were looking eye to eye. Konoka saw the tears sliding down Setsuna's cheeks, and she took Setsuna into her arms, holding her tight. She said nothing, and a few minutes later, she could feel Setsuna's tears starting to dampen her shirt.

Negi and Asuna watched as Setsuna hugged Konoka close, her head on Konoka's shoulder. Konoka was stroking her back and whispering into Setsuna's ear.

Even from a few feet away, they could see Setsuna's body shaking against Konoka, and they said nothing.

"Glad that's overwith." Asuna said quietly, turning away from Konoka and Setsuna.

"Yes," Negi replied. "That battle was quite difficult." He himself bore many small cuts, but no serious injuries. He had been stat boosting Asuna, so she hadn't taken any damage, having been protected by his magical defenses.

"Well, let's get out of here." Asuna said.

Negi looked up at her. "N-now? Shouldn't we stay with Konoka and Setsuna?" He asked.

Asuna shook her head. "You're such a kid sometimes." She said, grabbing him by his ear. "We're gonna leave now, and you're not going to complain." She said, pulling him along.

"Ow, Asuna!!" He said. "Let go already, I get it!"

Konoka tilted her head to the left a bit, and saw Negi and Asuna departing. She smiled, and lowered her head again, holding on tight to Setsuna.

"It's okay babe." She soothed, rubbing Setsuna's back. "I'm fine, you're fine, no enemies remain." She said. "Everything will be fine now."

Konoka closed her eyes, and held on tightly to her best friend, not caring that the sun was setting, and it's warmth was slowly disappearing. Her best friend needed her, and she wasn't going to move from this spot until Setsuna was ready.

Besides, holding Setsuna so close was giving her all the warmth she would ever need.

A/N: Hmm, kind of a random one, and didn't quite turn out the way I wanted. Not to say that I don't like it, I do, but nevertheless, it still doesn't carry quite the effect I was looking for. Reviews are appreciated.


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